内容简介
Frostmourne.
It was caught in a hovering, jagged chunk of ice, the runes that ran the length of its blade glowing a cool blue. Below it was a dais of some sort, standing on a large gently raised mound that was covered in a dusting of snow. A soft light, coming from somewhere high above where the cavern was open to daylight, shone down on the runeblade. The icy prison hid some details of the sword's shape and form, exaggerated others. It was revealed and concealed at the same time, and all the more tempting, like a new lover imperfectly glimpsed through a gauzy curtain. Arthas knew the blade -- it was the selfsame sword he had seen in his dream when he first arrived. The sword that had not killed Invincible, but that had brought him back healed and healthy. He'd thought it a good omen then, but now he knew it was a true sign. This was what he had come to find. This sword would change everything. Arthas stared raptly at it, his hands almost physically aching to grasp it, his fingers to wrap themselves around the hilt, his arms to feel the weapon swinging smoothly in the blow that would end Mal'Ganis, end the torment he had visited upon the people of Lordaeron, end this lust for revenge. Drawn, he stepped forward.
The uncanny elemental spirit drew its icy sword. "Turn away, before it is too late," it intoned.
His evil is legend. Lord of the undead Scourge, wielder of the runeblade Frostmourne, and enemy of the free peoples of Azeroth. The Lich King is an entity of incalculable power and unparalleled malice -- his icy soul utterly consumed by his plans to destroy all life on the World of Warcraft.
But it was not always so. Long before his soul was fused with that of the orc shaman Ner'zhul, the Lich King was Arthas Menethil, crown prince of Lordaeron and faithful paladin of the Silver Hand.
When a plague of undeath threatened all that he loved, Arthas was driven to pursue an ill-fated quest for a runeblade powerful enough to save his homeland. Yet the object of his search would exact a heavy price from its new master, beginning a horrifying descent into damnation. Arthas's path would lead him through the arctic northern wastes toward the Frozen Throne, where he would face, at long last, the darkest of destinies.
作者简介
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists, which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. To the best of her knowledge, she is the creator of the elven vampire archetype in fantasy fiction.
She is the author of several original fantasy novels, including On Fire’s Wings, In Stone’s Clasp, and Under Sea’s Shadow (currently available only as an e-book) the first three in her multi-book fantasy series “The Final Dance” from LUNA Books. In Stone’s Clasp won the Colorado Author’s League Award for Best Genre Novel of 2005, the second of Golden’s novels to win the award.
Among Golden’s other projects are over a dozen Star Trek novels and the well-received StarCraft Dark Templar trilogy, Firstborn, Shadow Hunters, and Twilight. An avid player of Blizzard’s MMORPG World of Warcraft, Golden has written several novels in that world (Arthas, Lord of the Clans, Rise of the Horde) with more in the works, including The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, due out in August 2010. She has also written two Warcraft manga stories for Tokyopop, “I Got What Yule Need” and “A Warrior Made.”
Golden is currently hard at work on three books in the major nine-book Star Wars series “Fate of the Jedi,” in collaboration with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Her first book in the series, Omen, hit shelves in June of 2009, and her second, Allies, is slated for publication in early summer of 2010.
精彩书评
''This book is an overdosed cocktail of lore and continuity that will numb your senses....I can only say one thing about this. I (beep) love this book!!!"
-- Blizzplanet.com
前言/序言
洛丹伦的悲歌:一个王子的陨落与王国的凋零 书籍名称: 暮光挽歌:艾泽拉斯的失落王冠 (小说,史诗奇幻) 字数: 约 1500 字 --- 序章:霜风中的低语 洛丹伦,曾经是人类七国中最辉煌的明珠,如今却被一层永恒的寒霜所笼罩,空气中弥漫着腐败与绝望的气息。本书不讲述任何关于那位著名的、被霜之哀伤选中的王子的故事,而是将笔墨聚焦于洛丹伦陷落前后,那些同样被命运洪流裹挟的个体与群体。 这是一部关于选择、责任、以及在文明崩塌之际,个体如何努力维持微弱人性的史诗挽歌。故事从洛丹伦王城北郊一个平静的采矿小镇——维瑟尔镇开始,那里的人们依靠山脉中丰富的矿藏过活,对王室的纷争和远方的瘟疫一无所知。 第一部:瘟疫的阴影与信仰的考验 在远方,疾病如同无声的潮水,正在缓慢而坚定地吞噬着王国的心脏。然而,在维瑟尔镇,人们首先感受到的,却是来自信仰的动摇。 主要人物线索: 1. 首席牧师 埃尔文·德雷克: 埃尔文是维瑟尔镇圣光大教堂的领袖,一个信仰坚不可摧的中年人。瘟疫的消息起初被王室斥为谣言,但当第一批带着诡异病症的难民涌入镇子时,埃尔文的信仰遭遇了前所未有的考验。他拒绝相信圣光会抛弃他的子民,但眼睁睁看着被隔离的教徒们转化为嗜血的怪物,让他开始质疑自己所侍奉的神祇的旨意。他的挣扎,体现在对那些幸存者的无望救赎中,他必须决定,是坚守教义,还是为了生存而采取近乎“异端”的残酷措施。 2. 矿工领队 葛林·石拳: 葛林代表着洛丹伦的普通劳动阶层。他务实、强壮,对贵族的腐败心知肚明,但对王权仍抱有一丝敬畏。当瘟疫爆发,他的采矿队伍被征召去挖掘深埋的古墓——据说那里有能够对抗疾病的草药。然而,他们挖掘出的,却是被遗忘的黑暗历史,以及被压制在地下的古老邪恶。葛林的故事线着重于资源短缺、社会秩序的崩溃,以及普通人在面对超自然恐怖时的原始反应——逃跑、反抗,或是绝望的团结。 3. 边境巡逻官 莱娅·风行者(非王室血脉): 莱娅是洛丹伦边境巡逻队的一名经验丰富的斥候,隶属于一个被遗忘的北方哨站。她对王城中心的政治斗争不感兴趣,只忠于脚下的土地和她手下那群被认为已经堕落的游侠。当瘟疫切断了与洛丹伦的通讯后,莱娅发现,真正威胁边境的,并非来自兽人或亡灵的军队,而是那些试图趁乱占领战略要地的腐败贵族代理人,以及被恐惧驱动的难民潮。她必须运用游侠的智慧,在人类的自相残杀和未知的威胁之间找到一条生存之道。 第二部:堡垒的沦陷与希望的碎片 随着疫情的恶化,洛丹伦王城内部的防御体系开始瓦解。本书的第二部分,将视野扩大到王城周边被遗弃的军事要塞和贵族庄园。 事件焦点: 要塞“铁壁”的围攻: “铁壁”是一座具有战略意义的军事要塞,由经验丰富但日益傲慢的伯爵指挥。瘟疫到达时,伯爵拒绝相信普通士兵会被感染,导致病毒在军营内迅速传播。本书详细描绘了这座要塞内部的权力斗争:是听从伯爵的无谓抵抗,还是由底层军官主导的绝望突围? 埃尔文牧师被派往“铁壁”提供精神支持,但最终不得不面对一个残酷的现实:一些被感染的士兵,在理智尚存的片刻,请求他实施安乐死。他的决定,将决定他能否继续站在圣光的立场,或是彻底堕入为生存而战的深渊。 与此同时,葛林和他的矿工,被强征为防御工事的劳动力。他们利用自己对地下结构的了解,试图开辟秘密通道逃离,却无意中唤醒了深埋在要塞地基下的某种更古老的、与亡灵瘟疫无关的恐怖生物——这使得“铁壁”的陷落,变成了多方势力的混战。 第三部:霜风下的抉择 在洛丹伦的格局彻底崩塌时,幸存者们被迫向南或向东迁徙,寻找新的庇护所。 莱娅斥候的任务,变成了在混乱中组织一支流亡队伍,护送维瑟尔镇上那些重要的学者、手工艺者和无法自卫的民众穿越被遗弃的村庄。他们遭遇的挑战不再仅仅是疾病,而是劫掠者、走投无路的难民,以及那些相信只有“纯血”才能活下去的极端主义幸存者群体。 主题升华: 本书的核心,在于展示一个社会在失去中央权威和共同信仰后,道德的弹性与脆弱。当“巫妖王”这个概念尚未成为所有人心中的恐惧时,人们已经开始互相残杀,为争夺一口干净的水源、一张干燥的毯子而战。 埃尔文牧师最终做出了他的选择:他放弃了对圣光奇迹的执着,转而专注于人性的互助。他不再是宣讲天堂的牧师,而是一名救护者,用自己所剩无几的医药知识,尽力减轻痛苦,即便这意味着他必须亲手执行那些违背他早期教义的决定。 葛林领队则成为了流亡队伍的实际保护者,他发现,真正的力量并非来自矿镐,而是来自组织和坚韧的意志。他带领幸存者们进入了山脉深处,利用他的采矿知识建立了一个隐蔽的、依靠自给自足的庇护所。 尾声:灰烬中的希望 当故事结束时,洛丹伦已成定局。那些曾经的辉煌,如今只剩下一片被冰冷力量统治的废墟。幸存者们没有迎来胜利,也没有获得宏大的救赎。他们仅仅是活了下来,带着对失去家园刻骨铭心的记忆。 莱娅和她的游侠小队,成功地将大部分流亡者护送到了相对安全的南方边境,在那里,他们遇到了其他逃亡者的零星群体。他们没有建立起一个新的王国,只是建立了一个临时的社区,一个承诺互相扶持的契约。 本书聚焦于“失败”的代价,以及在真正的灾难面前,那些不被史诗记载的小人物如何定义了勇气和人道。它描绘了在光芒熄灭之后,黑暗降临时,个体依然能做出的,最艰难也最有意义的选择。这是一个关于失去的世界,以及如何在灰烬中重建信任的故事。 ---